MALIBU—The city of Malibu’s new Director of Environmental Stability, Yolanda Bundy, held a special town hall meeting on November 23 that focused on the issue of the Woolsey Fire rebuilding and recovery.
According to the city’s website, the purpose of the meeting was to, “offer resources and assistance to help residents advance their post-Woolsey Fire home rebuilding projects, answer questions, and share information about important upcoming changes to the Building Code that will affect home rebuilding projects in Malibu starting January 1, 2020.”
Since the Woolsey Fire, there are 432 building permits pending for families who lost their home as a result of the blaze. Only one home is on the verge of completion since the fire. There are 236 families that have not reached out to the city for information regarding rebuilding. Malibu has waved a total of $1,202,918 in fees for Woolsey Fire Projects.
Bundy who was the former chief building official for the County of Ventura helped hundreds of families recover from the 2017 Thomas Fire. She led the rebuilding efforts for the city of Ventura. During the meeting Bundy stated, “When I left the city of Ventura, 376 structures were approved and under construction; 67% of the rebuild. That was possible within 21 months,” after the Thomas Fire.
While at the town hall meeting, a man asked if the incorporated areas of Malibu will be able to reap the benefits of the city’s Woolsey Fire solutions since some parts of the city are in different counties. Bundy responded that during the Thomas Fire she was able to bring aid to different jurisdictions, but she did not have an exact answer yet.
Bundy was awarded the “2019 Annual Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards – Safer City Building Official of the year” by the Southern California Structural Engineers Association. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering.
